Australia has a love affair with Sofi Tukker. Chuck on the radio, you’ll probably hear a Sofi Tukker track or two, they’ve played some memorable shows at the iconic Groovin The Moo over the years, and their hits ‘Drinkee’ and ‘Purple Hat’ have each reached platinum on the ARIA charts. WET TENNIS, or When Everyone Tries to Evolve, Nothing Negative Is Safe, is the perfect follow up to their debut, and is the perfect album for these times, a positive journey featuring a soundtrack that’ll make you want to get up and move. A versatile record, WET TENNIS also sees the duo dipping their toes into mellower moments. “It feels amazing to have the album out,” Sophie, (Hawley-Weld, vocals and guitar) says. “We’re on tour right now, and it’s great to be playing the music every night, it’s exciting, it’s been a long time in the making. “We also created a whole WET TENNIS production show where we’re on a tennis court with a scoreboard, really living the WET TENNIS world. “I play a scoreboard like a drum set,” Tucker (Halpern, percussion) adds, “and it triggers sounds and video, and it’s really fun to see this idea we thought of during the pandemic be out there in the world.” WET TENNIS could be considered a lockdown baby. Sophie notes the extended free time thanks to the years of self-sequestration was the perfect opportunity to finish all their unfinished music from years prior. “We were working on WET TENNIS from before lockdown, so a lot of the songs are from life and personal experiences. We spent a lot of time during the pandemic looking at songs we had started, and just finishing them, adding new elements and stuff.” The title track ‘Wet Tennis’ has been a clear fan favourite thanks to its sensual horns and infectious hook. “‘Wet Tennis’ was the last song we wrote and we had already named the album,” Sophie notes. “We knew what we wanted the world to look and feel like.
“We were in our house, just kind of goofing around, and Tucker started singing ‘Bring your hips to life’ in a really bad boy-band accent. “We wanted a fun song that would make people smile while dancing, it didn’t need to be emotional, it didn’t need to be deep, we just wanted to have fun on a song, but we felt like it was almost too electronic. So we went to Miami, and we got a bunch of incredible musicians to play, we got real incredible horn players to play, like a whole orchestra.” “It was a little linear, and we felt like
“We make music that feels right in the moment. We just follow what we’re inspired by, and ‘What a Wonderful World’ and ‘Interlude’ felt really organic and natural. “We didn’t want to just lose it, so we just repurposed it, then it had its own vibe. It was written to an upbeat, bouncy song. You never know how things are going to come out” The features on WET TENNIS come through hard and strong; Mahmut Orhan, John Summit, BOII, Amadou and Mariam, and even Tucker’s dad each make an appearance across the record. “The one we did with Amadou and Mariam was really just a small musical chunk, then we went back and forth, it was very ‘from the beginning’,” Tucker says. “Then there’s ‘Sun Came Up’ with John Summit, where we had a full demo of the song for a while, and never knew what to do with it. Then Words by Ben Lamb we were chatting with him on Instagram and sent him the demo, and he just took it that final step to make it feel so good.” The pair will be hitting The Forum and Splendour In The Grass this month with a show you’re not likely to forget. “It’s a whole world that we’re bringing, it’s super high energy. It’s a bit of a competition. You never know who’s going to win,” Sophie adds. “It’s fun. There’s a crazy energy. People should prepare to get Credit Elizabeth Miranda sweaty, wear some comfy shoes, if you think you might not be it needed that funk, the groove that is just jumping that high, I’ll force you to.” Tucker impossible to make from a computer,” says with a laugh. Tucker adds. “We feel so lucky that people come WET TENNIS features the stylings to the shows and are just so joyous, it’s a we’ve come to love, but at times the really amazing culture.” album ventures into reflective territory, WET TENNIS is out now via Ultra Music. with a calming ‘Interlude’, and a cover of Sofi Tukker are playing Splendour In The ‘What a Wonderful World’. Grass and are hitting The Forum on “Sometimes things come from July 23. totally opposite vibes,” Tucker mentions. “‘Interlude’ was originally written for a bridge in a dance song, we loved it so much, but it didn’t fit in the energetic fun song.
SOFI TUKKER
Sofi Tukker bring their WET TENNIS world experience down under and the party continues with their sophomore release.
22
BEAT.COM.AU
